Once again, it was the night before my flight and absolutely nothing had been packed, no flight information had been acquired and my 5AM wake up call seemed to be creeping up quicker than expected.
Finally, around one in the morning I was able to muster some drive, put together a small back pack and hit the pillow.
The clock on my phone and the chatter of my night-owl roommates made certain I didn’t over sleep and miss the joyous occasion of dealing with airport security and the other thousands of travelers. At least there was the new art in the Sacramento airport to appreciate.
The confirmation email said the ticket was through American Airlines but after failing at the self-serve screen the AA clerk told me it was actually through Alaska Airlines. I spent 15 minutes trying three different machines before going to a clerk; I was worried they might try to force me to check the guitar I had brought
.
Although the art in the new Sacramento airport terminal is fairly amazing as well as interesting, the voice they used for the automatic announcements only adds to how uncomfortable airports can be. It seriously sounded like it could have been a cartoon character from some crummy insurance commercial.
As the sliding doors on the train opened to reveal the maze of alleyways leading to the check point, people began to get frisky. Almost immediately nearly everyone began power walking and ducking under dividers, if you have never seen some one power walk it’s that goofy halfway point between a walk and a jog.
It seemed everyone was really in a rush to take off their shoes, go through a body scanner and have some stranger check your hair for weapons or drugs.
What a great experience.
I always seem to be a prime target for TSA to search and push the boundaries of what is comfortable.
They seem to love putting me through the body scanner, which was followed by a rather awkward head massage from a burly TSA agent.
After finally making it to my assigned seat and stashing my guitar in the stewardess closet; the realization hit me, the seat I was in didn’t lean back and it was right next to the restroom.
Hopefully no one forgot to expel their morning coffee before getting on the plane.
Luckily the flight to Seattle was a short one and I was having coffee with the family in no time. Seeing family for the holidays is always worth going through the airport drama, good to be back for the holidays.
Sounds like it was a pretty fun trip...
ReplyDeleteA little more on the guitar stashing (I know they are a problem) might have been good.
And perhaps a little more about other people on the plane? Or the flight attendants?
Anyone flying Alaska would wonder about specifics.
Overall, a pretty smooth flight to read.